Preschool improves scheduling, ensures accurate teaching times with synchronized time.
Overview
Lindenwold Preschool, Lindenwood, NJ, provides a safe, academically challenging, child-centered environment where students solve problems, develop a sense of self-worth and embrace life-long learning. The original three-story building that houses the Lindenwold Preschool was built in 1923 and includes six classrooms, a nurse’s office and a gymnasium. A two-story addition was later added with eight classrooms.
Challenge
Lindenwold Preschool currently uses nine classrooms, all of which recently moved into the school’s current location. Because the building did not have any clocks or timekeeping system in place when the preschool moved in, teachers purchased their own battery-operated clocks for the classrooms. These clocks weren’t synchronized to the same time, so the clocks presented several challenges, including:
- Keeping teachers, staff and 140 students on schedule throughout the day
- Fairly enforcing the tardy policy
- Efficiently rotating students through different rooms for different activities
- Scheduling the delivery of school lunches to the classroom
- Accurately and safely dismissing students to the bus lines
Solution
With the help of the school district’s long-time telecom provider, Lindenwold Preschool chose a SiteSync IQ Wireless Clock System from American Time, along with 18 wireless, battery-operated clocks for every room and two 15-inch wireless clocks with wire guards for the gymnasium. With SiteSync IQ, the school now has a synchronized timekeeping solution that can wirelessly synchronize and control all of the clocks to ensure the same, precise time is shown. In addition, future clocks can easily be added and managed by the SiteSync IQ controller.
“As a multi-level, cinderblock building with a two-story addition, it wasn’t feasible to install wired clocks,” said Stephen DeCicco, instructional assistant at Lindenwold Preschool. “The clocks had to be wireless and battery operated, and the transmitter needed to be strong enough to travel throughout the building.”
Results
Each clock in the school is now synchronized to the second. Staff can open the school entrance at the official school start time, and preschoolers are kept on more accurate schedules. In addition to scheduling, synchronized time has allowed staff to rotate on time to different classrooms throughout the day, and the school nurse can more accurately record the time when logging students’ illnesses.
“Our curriculum requires that students have at least an hour in our learning centers, and now with accurate clocks there isn’t the risk of overlapping that time with other activity time,” explained DeCicco. “Plus, the clocks have maintained consistent, maintenance-free time.”
In the event of a power outage, the battery-operated wireless clocks continue to keep time, even if the transmitter loses power. When power is restored, the SiteSync IQ system updates the clocks and ensures they are still synchronized to the second. Class times and class changes can continue throughout the day and don’t miss a beat.
“Having every classroom clock show the same time has helped keep our school functioning smoothly and efficiently,” said Colleen Moran, director of early childhood at Lindenwold Preschool. “We love American Time’s system!”